Why I Cook

I am not a great cook. Well, at least not yet. I used to think my future family would be skinny and never have to go to the gym because I might accidentally poison them or they wouldn't like my food!

I have, however, always loved food. I used to cut out recipes from the LA Times paper and dutifully made color coded (nerd!) recipe collages when I was a teenager. As an aspiring ballerina, I made ultra fattening (man, were they good!) desserts, because forbidden = desirable. In college and beyond I was addicted to watching the Food Network and when I moved to France with an American TV, all I watched were old VCR recordings of Rachel Ray and Michael Chiarello.

Up until a year or 2 ago, I didn't spend any significant amount of time in the kitchen because my mother is a great cook and made great "doggie bags" that lasted me an entire week at university. When I started working as an investment banker there was even less need to cook since I ate 3 meals a day at my desk. I'm sure it wasn't very healthy gobbling down Cheesecake Factory takeout in 5 minutes flat amid a mountain of papers and Diet Coke cans, but I learned to live with the banker lifestyle.

One year, when I came back to France after Christmas holidays in LA, I suddenly couldn't stand the thought of eating one more choose-your-own-toppings pasta salad for lunch. I started fiddling around in my tiny kitchen on the weekends, cooking as many dishes as I could until I ran out of pots and pans. I got many comments from certain less than diplomatic colleagues along the lines of, "Ew, what is that smell?!?!?!" when I heated up my little bento at noon but I didn't care. I had Chinese food!

One great blessing I received when my bank collapsed was that I suddenly had more free time (wow!). I decided to volunteer at a local soup kitchen run by 4 American churches in Paris. I met many amazing volunteers in the numerous Fridays I spent at the American Cathedral kitchen and made some great friends. Although I was often teased about my less than stellar cooking skills, it was still such a rewarding experience to be able to cook a hot meal for homeless and needy guests.

Part of the "Friday Mission Lunch" team

I was reminded of "the joy of cooking" today (thanks, Bel!) when I helped cook a welcome lunch at my church with my home group. Life in culinary school can be tough but when I am in the kitchen for a good cause, I don't care about the fatigue anymore. It may not have been 3 star cooking but it was good food prepared with lots of love. It's such a privilege to be able to contribute like that and it has re-motivated me to face the week ahead. Bringing joy to others - that is why I cook...or try to cook!